Even though only a few years had passed since, it felt like it was only a few months before Hisato has turned six. He was a little bummed to not go to school that spring, but when he found out that meant more time with mother and her classes, he was more than satisfied to patiently wait till April came along the following year.
I was a time of many challenges. As Hisato was getting ready for his first year at elementary school, Yukari was finishing up her final year of university to get her Masters that spring. Even though she wished she had more time till she she saw her little boy off, it was every mother like her that year who were doing the same thing.
Even though Mitsuru had told them several times that they were welcome to stay as long as they like, Yukari felt six years was wearing out her welcome. So before getting Hisato signed up for elementary school, she scouted out places for them to go to. They could go almost anywhere, even out of the country, but she wanted Hisato to be raised a little closer to home. So she found some places that were close to Iwatodai and settled on a nice small, yet fully equipped town miles away from there. The local elementary school was rated one of the best in the nation and the price of single family homes were within her budget. After weeks of research, up to her graduation, she had arranged to see some homes with real estate agents, applied Hisato to the elementary school, and even sent her resume to local accounting companies.
As graduation day, came and went, everything was packed into the moving truck and it was time to say their goodbyes to Mitsuru. She could never thank her enough for the support for those past six years and even for helping her move out then. When she made a silly promise to pay her back, Mitsuru just laughed and waved it off, telling her it was a long-waited thank you for everything she had done for her years back. With the moving truck sent off toward their destination, Mitsuru took them to the airport and gave their final goodbyes and watched and waved them farewell as they went through security.
...
The town was in between being and city and being a small town. There were many shops of many kinds, both locally owned and large companies, but they were a nice distance away from the neighborhood, where the elementary school was at the edge of. It the perfect size in Yukari's mind for raising her son.
The real estate agent visited with them the day after they arrived, showing them many homes. A lot of them weren't what Yukari had hoped for until the very last one they showed her. It was a home with a room for her and a room for the growing Hisato, along with a beautiful backyard, close to the school, and with enough room to grow into. It was perfect.
They stayed in a hotel for a week as they waited for the contract to be signed and their belongings to come in from Tokyo. Once that had arrived, the movers moved all the furniture in, including the ridiculously fancy furniture from Mitsuru's. What she didn't know was that Mitsuru gifted Hisato furniture for him to grow into: a bed, a dresser, and a few new toys as well. She called Mitsuru to thank her, but all she did was laugh and say that was the last of the surprises and that she would remain there for her if she needed help.
School started in a few days, so they went into town together and bought his uniform, along with some new clothes, since he was nearly growing out his others already. Hisato grew to be a rather lanky boy, compared to the other kids his age. But had proven to have a trick or two up his sleeve when it came to his physical strength. He was able to pick up things that, normally, a kid his age would hurt himself trying to. Although she remained cautious over it, the extra help around the house made settling into their new life a lot easier.
Tearful exchanges were made on the first day of school as she said goodbye to him before he joined his fellow classmates inside. She was able to meet many mothers, both younger and older than her and both new and experienced. Some made her feel ashamed of being a younger mother, but most of them were welcoming. They invited her to lunch, playtimes with the kids, and just general mom things she never experienced at the university. Having friends from the get-go was nice, but she worried deeply about Hisato and him making friends. But when she came to pick him up that afternoon, her worries were quelled as he waved goodbye to his new friends.
He was a good student, a model student to the rest of his class, his teachers told her. She was asked by many if she'd taught him before hand, but shocked them when she told them that's how he grew. He had always been such a friendly boy, hardly ever making a ruckus or showing much of his age. He was also enjoying school a lot, talking to his mother about all that he learned that day and very excited to return the next day.
Yukari got a job at a local firm, working as an accountant. Everything was going smoothly. She finally felt accomplished, being able to support her son and teach him the way her mother did before her own father's death. Being a single mother was hard, but there was never a moment where she regretted anything. Though as Hisato grew, his curiosity grew to match it, asking questions about her childhood and how old was she when she first did this or that, but one evening, she had not been prepared for what her seven year old asked her...
November 16th, 2017
Afternoon
Takeba Residence
Yukari was going through her work, looking at her client's finances and records. Hisato had finished his homework early and entered the room in which was the study, where she was.
"Mama?"
She looked up and met eyes with her son. "Yes, Hisato? What is it?" She put her current stack of papers to the side and picked up another and began skimming them.
"All of my classmates talk about their parents, but I only have a mama... Where's Papa?"
The words froze her solid. She didn't think this day would come so soon.
She set aside her papers and stood up from her desk, walking towards him. Taking ahold of his hand, she walked him into her bedroom and sat him on the foot of her bed. Taking a photo off her dresser, she slowly turned to him, emotions bursting from all her seams. Then she sat down next to him and put an arm around him.
"When I was in my last year of high school, I was blessed with you as the best gift I ever wished for," She began, trying to hold back. "However, your... your father was taken away from us before you were born..."
Hisato looked at her with curious eyes and she began to tear up a little.
"Your father... died the beginning of his third year of high school..."
She expected her son to cry, but instead, he just slumped.
"Oh... " he quietly said, looking down at his feet. She grimaced, but stood up and retrieved Makoto's Evoker from the dresser, along with his SEES band, and sat back down. Handing his ID to him, she collected her thoughts.
"That was your father's second year school ID," She explained softly. "He was in the same class as me and our friend, Junpei. We met the beginning of that year, under some very odd chances..."
"'Odd'?" he repeated, still gazing into his father's picture.
She looked up towards the other pictures remaining on her dresser. "Your father was special..." She continued in a low voice. "At that time, for the past ten years, a strange thing occurred every night between one day and the next called the Dark Hour... I and only Mitsuru and Akihiko had been working to eliminate it before your father came along. What he had inside him changed the course of the world's fate and before we knew it... we were faced with death itself..."
Hisato seemed surprised, but not scared in any way, so she continued by presenting the Evoker to him from the view of her hands. "We had these special powers called 'Personas' that we could call by using this," She explained. "But this isn't a real gun and no other type of guns do what this does. Only this one..." She told him, closely staring at him, checking his expression and body language. Good. He seemed to understand.
"And with this power that only a few people had, could a Persona be called, but your father... he could call many..." She turned her gaze back to the remaining photos on her dresser. "Something about a power of a wild card... I never understood it. But whatever it was, your father was able to save the whole world... He performed a miracle..." She found herself staring at his Evoker in her hands once more, slowly stroking it with the tips of her fingers. Memories came flashing back to the time he had used hers to summon his Persona, then all the other times after when he summoned others, and then... When he threw his Evoker down as he went up...
"Mama...?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks, all own their own. Wiping her cheek with the back of wrist and sniffling, she tried to stop them but they had a mind of their own.
"D-Don't worry, Hisato..." She gave a weak laugh, trying her best to crack the slightest of a smile. "All those b-bad things from then are gone now... Thanks to your..." But the smile soon fell and faded into nothing, leaving only the taste of tears as they fell onto her lips. The young boy sat there, watching his mother's body shudder and shake as she broke down before his very eyes. The grieving she thought she let go of years ago came all back at once, overflowing like a boiling pot on the stove for too long. Her past lover's face flashed in her mind, his frowns, his rare smiles, his body disappearing in the distance, floating, then walking away from her, all at once.
This was an unusual face for his mother. Before this moment, her face was always smiling and her eyes shining bright as the morning sun. Now, her image was hard to see in light of the setting sun, the coming darkness shrouding over and engulfing her whole. New emotions stampeded into his mind, overflowing his consciousness to the brink of his control.
Hisato grasped and clutched onto the sleeve of her sweater, tugging at it, as if to pull her back. His own tears began to stream down his cheeks, his wails joining his mother's as his father's ID fell from his lap.
Eventually, her son's bawling could be heard from over her own and she turned her head to inspect. He continued to tug at the yarn, stretching out the shape and form of her sleeve. His eyes were closed as he wailed, reminiscent of his newborn face from years ago. Wiping her own tears, she realized. Many things, she realized at that moment. Why she was still here and not anywhere else. Why she was here while Makoto at the end of the world for eternity. Why she even saw her school days to end. All of it... was sitting right before her once again, just like those few years ago.
She stretched her arm over and around his shaking shoulders and took ahold of tugging wrist. His brown eyes revealed themselves to her, tears slowing to a trickle as he laid his eyes on her familiar smiling face.
"I told you... do not worry" Running her fingers through his blue hair, she pulled his gaze further up. "Everything is alright... Everything will be alright..." She pulled her son into her chest, holding his head with both her hands. His crying came close to ceasing as the minutes past, then he lifted his head back up to her.
"You... won't leave me... right, Mama?"
She was taken aback at first, but her answer was clear and soothed her.
"Of course not..." She muttered into his small ears, barely visible through his hair. "I won't ever leave you. Not in a million years..." Her heart calmed into a ocean of contentment as he let out a whimper of affirmation into her sweater. As they sat there, she stayed with him a while longer, rocking him back and forth in the safety of her brace.
"I want you to keep your father in your thoughts, okay?" He looked up into his mother's eyes after her words and gave a solid nod.
"I promise," Assuring his words with one of his inherited smiles. "After all, he saved the whole wide world! How could I ever forget a brave hero like him!" Her smile received a toothy grin with a giggle in response. Laying his head back in his mother's arms, he embraced her, wrapping his arms around her torso as much as his small arms let him.
"If only your father could see you now..." She whispered under her breath, stroking his soft, loved blue hair. Her eyes pulled her towards the window and out to the nearly dark sky, the brightness of the stars already making their way to Earth. Through the eyes of others, it was the universe staring back at them. But for her, the one who brought upon the future of the world could be seen among them, keeping them safe for as long as humanity flourished...
She didn't ever have to say goodbye. He will always be there. Up there for all to see.